During his nineteen-year tenure as the Director of Land Protection for the Nature Conservancy and West Texas Program Manager in Texas, James King garnered more experience putting conservation real estate transactions together than anyone else in Texas. A staunch advocate of community-based conservation, James has worked on many projects that are now well-known protected lands such as: Dolan Falls Preserve, Barton Creek Preserve, Independence Creek Preserve, Powderhorn Ranch, Shamrock Island, Marathon Grasslands, and Pinto Canyon. In his own back yard in the Trans-Pecos, James spearheaded the efforts to create the Davis Mountains Preserve – one of the most pristine and compelling conservation assets in the state. Additionally, James currently serves on the Borderlands Research Advisory Board, Board of Visitors of McDonald Observatory, Devils River Conservancy, and was the past Chair of the Big Bend Ranch State Park Advisory Board, in which capacity he worked with other volunteers to help support the needs of this vast 300,000-acre state wilderness park and open it for public use.
The Conservation Client’s Agent
James King takes particular pride in finding and creating opportunities for an elite, discerning and motivated clientele. His ability to match the right buyer with the right property has been tested and proven over and over again.
In fact, it is no stretch to say that ranch acquisition is in James’ blood. Starting with Captain Richard King, founder of the legendary King Ranch in South Texas and James’ great-great-great grandfather, James’ ancestors, from generation to generation, have been land merchants since 1853. With the same spark in his eye that inspired Captain King to tame a huge portion of a land once known as the Wild Horse Desert and turn it into a first-rate ranching operation, James King pursues properties to help his clients fulfill lifelong dreams.
The early developers of King Ranch also led the first efforts in Texas to conserve wild habitats and manage populations of wild game and other fauna. Today, James continues this traditional priority of conserving the land so that wildlife and unique flora can flourish, and future generations can enjoy the rich diversity of life for which thrive on conservation properties.
James King approaches each search for a client’s ideal property with an inspired zeal as if it were the first such transaction he had ever facilitated. James’ passion for the land is contagious, and his ability to quickly grasp the specific desires and goals of his clients sets him apart as the premier conservation ranch broker in the Trans-Pecos.
The Texas Specialist
James King has facilitated more than a million acres of conservation real estate transactions in Texas, but his particular concentration today is in the majestic Trans-Pecos region of far West Texas, the Texas Gulf Coast, and the stunning Edwards Plateau. James and Tammy moved to Fort Davis in 1998 with their two young children to embrace the small-town values and further relationships and knowledge of this vast region of Texas and the people who call it home. They are also conservation real estate owners themselves, so the King family has had first-hand experience of many aspects of owning conservation property. Opening an Austin office, now managed by their son Harrison, not only expands their ability to cover the entire state, but also brings in new technology and social media expertise in reaching the next generation of buyers and sellers.
If the diverse landscapes in Texas have inspired you to take the next step and consider ownership of a portion of our state’s heritage, King Land & Water is ready to be your boots-on-the-ground representative from its ideally-located bases of operations in Fort Davis and Austin Texas.